This semester you're going to learn a lot about your camera. Make sure that you take good care of it and treat it well. It will be an important tool. Clean your lens with an appropriate lens cloth and cleaner and protect your camera against dirt, shock, and water.
A few basics:
WHITE BALANCE
The subject of the color of light, and the techniques of dealing with it, are referred to as white balance. Your camera has various white balance presets which serve as a tool to help achieve the most neutral color tone, regardless of what temperature of light you may be shooting in. It is important to learn how to appropriately change this as you photograph in various situations.
JPEG vs RAW
Raw is an “uncooked” digital photo. It is a pure capture, and is equivalent to a digital negative - an unprocessed image that you can adjust to your heart's desire before you make a print.
JPG is a processed image. All of the processing takes place inside the camera before the camera saves the photo onto a memory card.
ISO
It is a setting on your camera which determines how sensitive the camera sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive to light, allowing you to take photos in dark conditions without using flash or tripod. High ISO also causes noise (or “grain”), and reduces image quality. It also is a term used for negative film, but a digital sensor acts in the same way and so the concept is used digitally as well.
Always try to use the lowest ISO setting (equals best picture quality. Adjusting the ISO will help you take photos in low light, without needing a tripod. Remember that your ISO can be used in addition to the other camera controls for specific effects.
